Piece of Craft: The Many Uses of Burlap

I don’t know how many of you have had burlap in your home or used it in a variety of projects, but I really enjoy it. I think it is a very interesting material to use. It has a rough texture for a fabric, which can make for a really fun effect depending on the craft you are making.

Sometimes, when you buy certain products such as rice, they may come in gunny sacks made from burlap. I’ve always found these bags to be so cool. They have sort of a vintage feel, and like everyone else I know, I’m obsessed with anything vintage-ish.

These sacks can be cut, sewn and made into a variety of different crafts, depending on what you want to do with them. As with most things, the options are essentially endless, but I’m going to highlight a few of my favorite ideas.

Bags:Backpacks, purses, totes, clutches, computer bags… name any type of bag, and most likely you can make it out of burlap. I actually own a backpack made out of such material and it reminds me of something out of Latin or South America. If you can hone your sewing skills (which I definitely need to work on) this bag can really be one-of-a-kind.

Notebooks: Cut and sew your burlap material to make a cover for a notebook. If you’re feeling really adventurous, using some burlap for a “paper-like” material for your book.

Coasters: By cutting your burlap into either small squares or circles, you have recycled-looking pieces ready for drink setting!

Last but not least, something that I think could be really cool to try is using burlap as a canvas. In a way, the texture of burlap just reminds me of a rougher canvas, so it would be cool to attempt some sort of art, whether it be painting or drawing with heavy duty markers on burlap.

Of course, as with most crafts, you can find all of these ideas available for purchase on the internet. If you’re feeling crafty though, I definitely recommend trying to make any or all of these ideas!

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me at fbreisbl@asu.edu.